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Prospect's Frasco happy to connect with Hurley, Buffalo

Bobby Frasco wasn't even born when Bobby Hurley was the point man of Duke's consecutive NCAA men's basketball titles in 1991 and 1992.

But Frasco is a die-hard fan of the program. The Prospect senior idolized former Glenbrook North star Jon Scheyer, who led Duke to the 2010 NCAA crown, and has posters and a Fathead of the team in his room at home.

So, Frasco is well-aware of Hurley's legacy with the Blue Devils. When Hurley, who just completed his first year as the head coach at the University of Buffalo, came calling on Frasco in mid-February, it didn't take long for the 6-foot-4 shooting guard to provide the answer that will have him signing a letter of intent Wednesday.

“It's the closest I could get to Duke,” said Frasco, a two-time Daily Herald All-Area selection. “I know I'm not at the skill level and talent level to go there, but this was the closest I could find.”

That's why Frasco said he chose Buffalo over scholarship offers from Boston University, Central Michigan, Green Bay and Elon. With a 29 ACT, Frasco also was highly interested in Dartmouth and Yale.

Then Buffalo assistant coach Nate Oats came to a game against Rolling Meadows. Two weekends after that, Frasco and Prospect coach John Camardella were getting a grand tour of the campus and basketball facilities from Hurley and sitting in on his pregame speech.

It all made for an easy decision for Frasco.

“He's one of my type of coaches that I like,” Frasco said of Hurley, who had a five-year NBA career. “He was into it and his passion rubbed off on me. He's someone I want to play for and he made me feel comfortable to be around the guys.”

But Frasco, who averaged 16.3 points and 7.1 rebounds and hit 54 3-pointers, hasn't been too comfortable since he made his decision.

Hurley gave Frasco a training regimen where he has to make 350 3s a day at a 70 percent success rate. He gets to Prospect at 6 a.m. to get his shooting done and then does weight training after school.

“Not like this — not this intense,” Frasco said when asked if he had ever trained like this before. “But I've loved it and I've had fun doing it.

“If you tell me this is going to make me play, if I get to this number by this time, then I'm going to do that. I'll work my hardest to make that so I can play and contribute as a freshman right away.

“My goal is to play right away. My dream was to go D-I, and now that it's here, I have to aim a little higher.”

Hitting that target shouldn't be a problem if Frasco achieves the vision the Buffalo staff has of him playing in a fashion similar to Wichita State standout Ron Baker.

And he's also joining a program that will have high expectations after going 19-10 overall and 13-5 in the Mid-American Conference in Hurley's first year.

“I can already tell he instills in kids' brains that hard work will always pay off,” Frasco said. “That's what rubs off on me ... no matter who you are and what you do, if you work hard at what you've got, you'll be fine.”

• Marty Maciaszek is a freelance columnist for the Daily Herald who can be reached at marty.maciaszek@gmail.com.

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